News Archive

Dr. Vincenzo Cirulli (MTE) has been awarded a $20,000 equipment grant from the Seattle Foundation. The purpose of this grant is to purchase a FACSCalibur 4-color flow cytometer system for the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence. This grant is paid from the Arthur W. Wittig Area of Interest Fund, Dr. David H. Houston Medical Research Fund, and Ethel G. Wittig Area of Interest Fund, created by gifts to the Seattle Foundation. Dr. Cirulli is an Associate Professor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition.

Dr. Joshua Thaler (MTE) has been awarded a Beginning Grant-in-Aid Award from the American Heart Association entitled “The Role of CNS Inflammation in Insulin Resistance and Diabetes”. This two-year project focuses on the potential contribution of high-fat diet-induced inflammation in the hypothalamus on susceptibility to insulin resistance. Dr. Thaler’s preliminary work suggests that providing an anti-inflammatory therapy directly into the brain can rapidly reverse the insulin resistance associated with obesity. This proposal seeks to delineate the cellular mechanisms by which this phenomenon occurs and to test an oral therapy that takes targets this system as a potential diabetes therapeutic. Dr. Thaler is an Acting Instructor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition.

Dr. Vincenzo Cirulli (MTE) has been awarded a Basic Science Award from the American Diabetes Association entitled “Adhesive and migratory cues for islet cells”. This three-year project focuses on the function of a neural protein named Slit-2 that his team has found to be expressed in the developing pancreas, and that appears to function as a migratory cue for pancreatic ductal cells marked by the expression of the progenitor marker Sox9. Preliminary work in the Cirulli’s laboratory suggests that Slit-2 exerts “awakening” functions on populations of ductal cells by eliciting a migratory phenotype. Ultimately, understanding the function of this neural chemotropic factor in the pancreas has important implications for both islet development and regeneration, as well as for the development of stem cell-based replacement therapies to cure diabetes. Dr. Cirulli is an Associate Professor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition.

Chongren Tang, MD PhD, an Acting Assistant Professor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition was awarded a four- year AHA Scientist Develpoment Grant for his proposal entitled “Mechanisms of JAK2/STAT3 pathway on ABCA1-mediated Lipid Efflux and Anit-inflammation.” The goal of this project is to characterize the cellular processes and molecules involved in the cholesterol export and the anti-inflammatory activities of ABCA1.

Dr. Michael Schwartz (MTE) has been awarded an NIH R01 for his proposal entitled “Hypothalamic Inflammation and Energy Homeostasis.” This research focuses on the brain’s role in high-fat diet-induced weight gain with an effort to develop therapies to reduce weight gain. Dr. Schwartz is Professor of Medicine, Director of the UW Medicine Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence and the Robert H. Williams Endowed Chair in Medicine.

Dr. Michael Schwartz (MTE) has been named the Robert H. Williams Endowed Chair in Medicine. Established in 1980, this was the first endowed chair in the UW School of Medicine, named in honor of the founding chair of the Department of Medicine. Robert H. Williams (1909-1979) was an internationally known endocrinologist specializing in diabetes and antithyroid drugs. He came to UW from Harvard in 1948 to become the first chair of the Department of Medicine, serving in that position until 1964. He also established the Division of Endocrinology and headed it until 1975. Research in diabetes was a very high priority for Dr. Williams, and he would have been impressed and proud of the Department’s achievements in this area.

David Cummings, MD, has been named the 2010 Pfizer Visiting Professor in Obesity at the City of Hope National Medical Center. Pfizer, Inc. awarded 8 Visiting Professorship in Obesity Awards in 2010 that support three days of educational activities with a distinguished visiting expert. Dr. Cummings is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Nutrition.

Michael Schwartz, MD, has been named the 2010 Pfizer Visiting Professor in Obesity at the Baylor College of Medicine. Pfizer, Inc. awarded 8 Visiting Professorship in Obesity Awards in 2010 that support three days of educational activities with a distinguished visiting expert. Dr. Schwartz is professor of medicine, head of the Section of Clinical Nutrition, and director of the UW Medicine Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence.

David Cummings has been awarded an NIH R01 for his proposal entitled “Feasibility, Efficacy, and Mechanisms of Surgical vs Medical Diabetes Treatment.” This project focuses on mechanisms of the effect of bariatric surgery on glucose metabolism. Dr. Cummings is an Associate Professor in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Nutrition.

Joshua Thaler has been awarded a K08 award from the NIH/NIDDK for his proposal entitled “Cellular Mechanisms of Hypothalamic Inflammation in High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity.” The goal of this research program is to determine brain mechanisms that govern dysregulation of energy balance in high-fat diet induced obesity in order to provide molecular targets for therapy. Dr. Thaler is an Acting Instructor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Nutrition.

About UWMDI

The UW Medicine Diabetes Institute (UWMDI), located at the South Lake Union research campus at the University of Washington, seeks to advance understanding of the causes and consequences of diabetes, obesity and related metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, and to identify new approaches to their treatment.